Medical appliance.



No. 817,288. PATENTED APR. 10, 1906.l

' J. P. WHBDON.

MEDIGAL APPLIANCE.

APPLICATIONPILED JAN.5, 1905.

@90999 QoQQQll-'oooso obQcQ @Qoaoooooco 9909099000009 A 09090909009 gogooooooog JAMES P. WHE'DON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MEDICAL APPLIANCE- Specification of Letters Patent.

L'atented April 10, 1906.

l Application filed January 5, i905. semi No. 239.795.

To @ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, JAMES P. IVHEDON, a citizen of the 'United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Medical Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

The main objects of my invention are to provide improved, effective, and inexpensive means for retaining medicine and holding the same into direct contact with the skin of a patient, to permit of the absorption of the medicine by the skin, and to provide in a device of this class an improved form of receptacle for medicine which will be flexible, non-absorbent, non-collapsible, and capable of holding a semiliquid medicine in contact with the 'skin of the patient, thus insuring a greater amount of absorption through the skin than takes place when ordinary absorbent bandages are used. I accomplish these objects by the device shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a device constructed according to my invention for applying medicine. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

In the construction shown in the drawings the medicine retainers consist of shallow dishes or cups 3, formed of imperforated rubber or similar non-absorbent material and each having a flange 4, extending around its rim. The retainers 3 are secured in position upon the skin of the patient by means of a pad 6, having apertures 7 therein for receiving the body parts of the retainers. One face ofthe pad 6 is coated with a layer of adhesive substance 8, which is adapted to secure the pad tothe reverse sides of the flanges 4 and also to the skin 'of the wearer. The concavities of the cups approximate in depth the thickness of the pad, and the bottoms of said cups are substantially flush with the outer face of the pad.` The device thus lies close to the skin of the wearer, and there would therefore be no visible bulging of the wearers clothing in that vicinity. The flanges 4 are provided with one or more annular grooves 9 on their face, and the bottom of the cup 3 is preferably provided with a plurality of protuberances 10, which rest against the skin of the wearer for supporting the bottom of the cup. The adhesive material S on the pad 6 also preferably contains an ingredient adapted to cause a slight irritation of the skin, as is usual in porous plasters. This irritation causes increased local circulation of the blood and insures the rapid absorption of the medicine.

The operation of the device shown is as follows: For the purpose of storingl and handling the pads 6 their adhesive face 'is covered by a thin sheet of cloth, as is usual in the case of adhesive plasters. I/Vhen the device is put in use, the outer covering oll cloth, which has not been shown in the drawings, is first removed from the adhesive face of the pad, and the medicine-retainers 3 are then seated in the apertures 7. The cups 3 are then lilled with the proper medicine, which is preferably in semiliquid form, and the adhesive face of the pad is then applied to the skin of the patient in such position as to bring the cups directly over the parts which are to be treated. The pad is finally pressed 'firmly down at all points, thus insuring that the flanges of the cups lit tightly against the skin of the wearer and prevent the leakage of medicine out of the cups. The protuberances l() prevent collapsing of the cup, and thereby prevent the medicine from being forced out of the cup by pressure from the outside, and the grooves 9 serve to collect any leakage, and thus still further help to prevent the escape of the medicine except by absorption through the skin of the wearer. The soft-rubber walls of the medicine-retainers serve to permit them to readily adapt themselves to the shape of the part to which they are applied. The particular form of pad which is shown in the drawings and which is provided with two similar medicine-receptacles, is intended for use upon the back of the atient, the medicine-retainers being suitably located for application at each side of the middle line of the back.

It will be seen that the shape of the device shown may be altered in numerous ways to suit special uses and that numerous other details may be altered without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A medicine-receptacle of the class described, formed of rubber or similar material and comprising a shallow-cupped body part having a flanged rim, and means for securing all parts of said rim into close contact with the skin of the wearer, said rim having an IOO IIO

annular groove in its face, substantially as riin into close Contact With the skin of the Io described. wearer, substantially as described.

2. A medicine-receptacle of the class de- Signed at Chicago this 31st day of Decemseribed, formed of rubber or simila) material ber, 1904. and coin risin a sha oW-oupped ody art having apfiangd rim, said body part haiing JAMES P VHEDON' protuberanoes extending from the bottom of Witnesses: the cup to points flush With the plane of said WM. R. RLMMLER, rim, and means for securing all parts of said EUGENE A. RUMMLER. 

